1. (Field of the Invention)
The present invention relates to a vulcanizer for vulcanizing and molding a green tire.
2. (Description of the Related Art)
The procedure for vulcanizing and molding a green tire comprises heating a mold by a heating medium, supplying a high temperature and high pressure heating medium to an internal space of the green tire charged into the mold, thereby pressing, while heating an inner wall surface of the tire, the inner wall surface in a direction of the mold. Vulcanizing is carried out by heating the green tire from inside and outside thereof by the heated mold and the heating medium in the internal space of the green tire.
For the heating medium used for the vulcanizing and molding as described above, vapor that can be prepared easily by a boiler can be used. Accordingly, a design has been heretofore employed in which a boiler is installed internally or externally of a building, and the boiler and a vulcanizer are connected through a piping whereby vapor prepared by the boiler is supplied to the vulcanizer through the piping. Where vulcanizing and molding are carried out by a plurality of vulcanizer, vulcanizers 111 use one boiler 112 in common, as shown in FIG. 9, and therefore, the main boiler 112 and each of the vulcanizers 112 are connected while branching a piping 113, and vapor prepared by the main boiler 112 is supplied while distributing it to the vulcanizers 111.
However, the conventional constitution as described above poses a problem that when the vapor is supplied from the main boiler 112 to the vulcanizers 111 through the piping 113, the greater part of quantity of heat of the vapor is lost due to the radiation of the piping 113, resulting in a great loss of energy. Particularly, where a plurality of vulcanizers 111 use one boiler 112 in common, since the length of the piping is long, the energy loss caused by the radiation of the piping 113 is extensive. When the design is employed in which the vapor from the boiler 112 is supplied to the vulcanizers 111 through the piping 113, when the vulcanizers 111 are intended to be transferred to other places, the transfer work for the vulcanizers 111 as well as the work for the piping 113 are necessary, thus posing a problem that the layout of factory cannot be changed easily. Further, where vulcanizing equipment is newly installed, it is necessary to install the main boiler 112 along with the vulcanizers 111, thus posing a problem that even small-scaled vulcanizing equipment for carrying out vulcanizing and molding by less number of vulcanizers 111 requires high cost.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vulcanizer capable of carrying out vulcanizing and molding with a small energy loss of a heating medium.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a vulcanizer capable of being transferred and capable of newly installing vulcanizing facilities at less cost.
The vulcanizer according to the present invention comprises a vulcanizer body for heating a green tire making use of quantity of heat of a heating medium to vulcanize and mold it, and repetitively using the heating medium used for the vulcanizing and molding for the purpose of heating, and heat quantity supplementing means for supplementing a lost part of the heat quantity of the heating medium by heating the heating medium. According to this, it is not necessary to receive a supply of a heating medium a boiler disposed in a place separately from the vulcanizer through a piping, and therefore, no energy loss caused by radiation of a piping in the middle of the supply occurs, and vulcanizing and molding can be carried out with small energy loss of the heating medium. Further, since no boiler and piping are necessary, the vulcanizer can be transferred easily, and the vulcanizing facilities can be newly installed at less cost.
In the above-described vulcanizer, the heat quantity supplementing means may comprise a circulating channel for removing the heating medium used for the vulcanizing and molding outside from the vulcanizing body to return it to the original place, and a first heater for heating the heating medium which flows in the circulating channel. According to this, the circulating channel and the first heater are assembled separately from the vulcanizer body, and afterward, are mounted on the vulcanizer body, thus making it possible to easily mount it on the existing vulcanizer body.
In the above-described vulcanizer, the vulcanizer body comprises a mold into which the green tire is charged, and a platen plate for heating the mold by receiving the heating medium, and the heat quantity supplementing means may have a second heater connected to the platen plate to heat the heating medium through a diaphragm of the platen plate. According to this, since the heating medium within the platen plate is heated by the second heater connected to the platen plate, the heating medium can be heated efficiently to supplement a lost part of the heat quantity.
In the above-described vulcanizer, the vulcanizer body comprises a mold into which the green tire is charged, and a platen plate for heating the mold by receiving the heating medium, and the heat quantity supplementing means may have a third heater provided in the receiving space of the heating medium to directly heat the heating medium. According to this, since the heating medium within the platen plate is heated directly, the heating medium can be heated very efficiently to supplement a lost part of the heat quantity.
In the above-described vulcanizer, the vulcanizer body comprises a mold into which the green tire is charged, and a bladder for pressing, when the green tire is vulcanized and molded, the inner wall surface of the green tire in a direction of the mold, the bladder being preferably formed of a low orientation material. According to this, even if vulcanizing and molding are repeated, since the low orientation material for the bladder is hard to be deteriorated under the circumstances of high temperature, the low orientation material maintains its initial properties, and even if the vulcanizing and molding are repeated increasingly, the bladder can be used for a long period.
A vulcanizer according to the present invention comprises a vulcanizer body for heating a green tire by making use of heat quantity of a heating medium to vulcanize and mold it, a mold into which the green tire is charged, an upper platen plate for heating the mold from the lower side thereof by receiving the heating medium, a lower platen plate for heating the mold from the upper side thereof by receiving the heating medium, first heat quantity supplementing means for elevating the upper platen plate to the desired temperature, second heat quantity supplementing means for elevating the lower platen plate to the desired temperature, said first and second heat quantity supplementing means respectively comprising a circulating channel for removing the heating medium used for vulcanizing and molding outside from the vulcanizing body to return it to the original place, and a heater provided in the circulating channel to supplement a lost part of heat quantity of the heating medium by heating the heating medial which flows in the circulating channel. In the above-described vulcanizer, the mold comprises an upper side mold, a lower side mold, and a split mold, the vulcanizer comprising a third heat quantity supplementing means for elevating a fixed ring provided on the split mold to the desired temperature, the third heat quantity supplementing means comprising a circulating channel for removing the heating medium used for vulcanizing and molding outside from the vulcanizing body to return it to the original place, and a heater provided in the circulating channel to supplement a lost part of heat quantity of the heating medium by heating the heating medial which flows in the circulating channel. According to this, no energy loss caused by the radiation of the piping in the middle of supply occurs, and vulcanizing and molding can be carried out with small energy loss of the heating medium. Since no boiler and piping are unnecessary, the vulcanizer can be transferred easily, and the vulcanizing facilities can be newly installed at low cost. Further, the vulcanizing channel and the heater are assembled separately from the vulcanizer body, and afterward, can be mounted on the vulcanizer body, and therefore can be mounted easily on the existing vulcanizer body also.
In the above-described vulcanizer, an induction heating coil may be provided in the outer perpheral direction of the split mold. According to this, an intensive high frequency magnetic field is applied to a tread part of a green tire to thereby preferentially induction-heat a belt member provided internally of the tread part, and therefore, in a bead part having a great wall-thickness and a tread part, heating is carried out internally of the tire, thus enabling elevation of the whole tire to the desired temperature in a short period of time.
In the above-described vulcanizer, a plurality of magnetic members may be provided on the surface of the bladder. Further, an induction heating coil may be arranged internally of the bladder. According to this, since the intensive high frequency magnetic field is applied to the magnetic members of the bladder to generate heat in the bladder itself, and therefore, the delay of the transmission time of the heat quantity by the bladder is suppressed to the minimum, because of which the green tire can be elevated to the vulcanizing temperature in a further short period of time.